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Posted on: May 9, 2018

Flags in Your Yard?

Now that the summer construction season is here, have you noticed paint markings and small flags in the ground around the city? Perhaps even in your front yard? The flags and markings you see are part of the Diggers Hotline utility line locating program.

Diggers Hotline is a free service that homeowners and contractors use to identify underground utility lines prior to digging. Anyone who is planning a project that involves excavation, from the homeowner who is building a fence to the contractor who is building a road, should contact Diggers Hotline prior to beginning the job. When a request is made, Diggers Hotline coordinates between the excavator and the owners of buried lines at the excavation site. All utility owners are then contacted to mark the job site with paint and/or flags. Companies participating in the Diggers Hotline program (per Wisconsin State Statute 182.0175) include cable television providers, electric and natural gas providers, petroleum transmission companies, local and long distance telephone providers, and local water utilities and sanitary and storm water utilities.

If you haven’t contacted Diggers Hotline but see flags and markings in your yard, they are probably located within the street right of way or within an easement. This could indicate that any number of projects could soon be underway in the street or right of way: the laying of fiber or phone lines, repairs to a water main or sewer line, etc. If you have questions about the work being done, you can contact Diggers Hotline at 1-800-242-8511 or https://www.diggershotline.com.